1. Technical Field
This document relates to ostomy devices. For example, this document relates to continent ostomy (e.g., continent ileostomy) valve devices.
2. Background Information
Treating some diseases of the digestive or urinary system can involve removing all or part of a patient's small intestine, colon, rectum, or bladder. In these cases, waste must be rerouted to exit the body of the subject. The rerouting surgery, known as an ostomy, can involve creating an opening in the abdominal wall so that a portion of the intestinal tract can be brought out to the skin level, resulting in what is called a stoma. Three common types of abdominal wall stomas result from, and may be classified as, a colostomy, ileostomy, and urostomy, which involve patients who have had surgery on their large intestine, small intestine, and urinary bladder, respectively. Typically, a medical prosthetic known as an ostomy pouching system can be used to collect waste from a diverted biological system as it exits a stoma. In a surgical variation of an ileostomy, a reservoir pouch is created inside the abdomen with a portion of the terminal ileum. A valve can be constructed in the pouch, and a stoma can be brought through the abdominal wall. A catheter or tube inserted into the pouch can be used drain feces from the reservoir.